Night vision devices are an important part of a soldier's equipment, allowing the soldier to see during low light or night conditions. Night vision devices utilized by the military typically include image intensifier tubes and associated optics that convert infrared and near infrared light into viewable images. A common night vision device currently being used in the U.S. Army is the PVS-7B night vision goggle assembly. Such goggle assemblies are currently being manufactured by ITT Electro-Optical Products Division of Roanoke, Va., the assignee herein. Although the PVS-7B night vision goggle assembly is commonly used by military personnel there is no available system or assembly in the U.S. Army supply network that directly attaches a pair of PVS-7B night vision goggles to the standard army issued PAS helmet that is worn by most soldiers.
The existing method of carrying the PVS-7B night vision goggle assembly is through the use of a headmount assembly (Part No. 300070-2) which attaches over the soldier's head with various straps, buckles and elastic bands. This prior art headmount assembly is fixed in size and is adjustable only through an elastic band at the back of the soldier's neck, that allows for about a one inch adjustment range. Since the unstretched circumference of the headband assembly comfortably fits only a narrow range of head sizes, anyone with a smaller head finds it difficult to wear the assembly without the addition of some padding to take up the slack. The addition of the padding requires additional time and expense. Adversely, soldier's that have a head size larger than the stretched circumference of the headband assembly, would experience a constricting pressure. Consequently, the headband assembly becomes very uncomfortable and can be worn only for short periods of time.
Compounding the above problem is the further use of straps that accompany the headband assembly. The arrangement of straps used by the prior art headband assembly are cumbersome and uncomfortable. The straps of the prior art headband assembly directly contact the head of the soldier causing discomfort. Furthermore, the weight and center of gravity of the PVS-7B night vision goggle assembly is not compensated for by the straps of the headmount assembly. As such, the night vision goggle assembly often moves out of place and must be continually adjusted and repositioned by the soldier.
In the prior art, mounting assemblies have been disclosed that mount various night vision devices to different types of helmets. Such prior art devices are exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 4,449,787 to Burbo, et al., entitled NIGHT VISION IMAGING SYSTEM ADAPTED FOR HELMET MOUNTING. Such prior art devices are typically designed for use by an aviator and require a substantial amount of labor to attach or detach the mounting assembly to the helmet. Consequently, such prior art devices are not adaptable for field combat use where it is necessary to quickly detach and store the night vision assembly when not needed.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a mounting assembly that can be used to mount a night vision device directly to a helmet, wherein the mounting device can be quickly and easily attached to, or removed from, the helmet as desired.